Operation Pierce Arrow

Operation Pierce Arrow was a US Air Force bombing operation which was executed on 5 August 1964 as retaliation for the Gulf of Tonkin incident three days earlier. The aircraft carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation launched 64 attack sorties against the North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases of Hon Gai, Loc Chao, Quang Khe, and Phuc Loi and the petroleum storage base at Vinh, destroying 29 torpedo boats and gunboats and 10% of North Vietnam's petroleum supply. The US lost 2 aircraft, with one pilot (Richard Sather) being killed and Everett Alvarez being captured. The North Vietnamese were incensed by the raids, and they refused to treat Alvarez as a prisoner of war, as the United States had attacked North Vietnam without a declaration of war.